Cake lifter and preserver



Oct. 30, 1951 G. o. KOPONEN 2,573,577

CAKE LIFTER AND PRESERVER Filed Aug. 6, 1947 Patented Oct. 30, 1951 FBI AND'TLRESERVER fGeorge o; Koponen, Detroit; Mich.

' Application August-6, 1947;"Serial' No3 766,727

' .z'ciaiins. ci.. 294 1 This invention relates to meansiiorltheppm- 'iectiomof .1the1cut SUEfaCBSJOfZCB'EKBSQl pies, .and rotheri' similar food tsproducts, especially-:- of'tthe :type which: is usually. cut in. the \form oft-wedges, .andhas for its objectto provide for-yer}? simple form'of. devicawhichamay. be positioned rto-..cover the-:1. cut; surf ace of the-.rcakenandzlsoiz protectrit :fromv-air. and. foreign:matter;- and, "stilliifurther, --it-.:is an .object -.of L the invention gator provide. .in :theisaid; device 1 means for facilitating. the a reim'ovalr ofit adjacent: slices or Wedges r.ofj.;the .icake .atfsuch-ztimeas may. be.;desirable.

rMore particularly, .the invention:contemplates thesprovision: :of vertical eplateelike; structures each adapted. .to ubeyplaced in contact with a cut "end of. a cake or usimi'larl article-peachhplate being,..:provided witha horizontalafootimember -which.-is;adap,ted to be gslippedunderneathithe. ad-

jacent section of the; cakesin order that-the .said .foot-memberumaw .beutilized :ifOX'fL the ,-.:-p.urpose goflifting such 'secti-onxof the. cake :fromthe; article'on' whichthe cake rests. I v Y Lam aware that gheretoforezitr has heemsug- :gested to use; a'pair: of'ihinged. platesrwhicmmay Elsa-positioned in the wejdgexcut of. ax cakexiand moved-etc engage ;the opposed -r cutsurfaces thereoflx but-such ardevice i z in norwayzadapted to facilitate the lifting of further wedges of cake :from their support. Furthermore,- .theztwonplates .are dependent: upon: each.::other :foratheir .rsupport in avertical position:so thatiawhen theieake becomes cut to an: extentv :wherebyxthe exposed surfaces extend directly across the cakeias'zwhen T116111; of; the cake has been. wremoved.) .t-he. \two plates: wouldithen be in the :sameipl'aneandsconsequently devoid of-ianyeisuppo'rt. '.Thus,' they wouldmaturally falli oveitand be of little nse :in accomplishing their.-object under such conditions. Applicants'device is characterized by the fact that the two plates are entirely separate and independent of one anotherandare,self-supporting in their positions "of placement," the weight of the cake assisting in" the supporting of the plates-insu'ch position.

In the case of a pie having; a filling whichgno-r- (madly? tends I to run, vupon being exposed'afters the 1pie"is'jcutrnnyeevice is. especially of advantage in maintaining the filling within the pie in addition to protecting it from the effects of air and the elements.

1 Still further objects or advantages additional or subsidiary to the aforesaid objects, or resulting from the construction or operation of the invention as it may be carried into effect, will become apparent as the said invention is hereinafter further disclosed.

llns'carryingthe. said, invention ainto;-.effect, I

.may adopt .:the .novel construction and arrangement .ofispartshereinafter. described-;.eby:;way ;;of example, ;haying: reference to the accompanying drawing, wherein:

- "Figure 1 is:- a perspective view. illustrating an ,embodimentof thezasaid invention: asau'tilizedi in relation.t0;a :cutv cake;

.-"Figure;- 2:;wiszan; elevation of zonenof: thezrpl'ate members; ofgthe: device;

Figure. 3 is. anenduelevation of-rthe'lsaidt member;

:Eigure 4 is a .plans of the member Figure 51s.; a similar -view i; Figure Z'gbfia 'somewhatimoblified form of; .the member'suchz :as is suitable for. use .in 50011118011011; witlripreserva- -tion'oficut pies;

1 Figure; 6 is: an end elevatiorrof.thessaid1modified. memberyand Figure 'Tis a'pl'an .viewof the same. ".Similaricharacters of reference: indicate. similar parts: in the several figuresof..the'rdrawing. 1

l0:il1ustrates:;a: cake-plate carrying avrcircwlar cake I I which is shown as having a wedge-shaped :piece cut therefrom line the well. known manner. Such: cutting of. thezcake, vof 'COUISGpGXIJOSBS-WWO angularly disposed faces to the atmospherewhich areaparticularlyisensitive to the drying efiects of the atmosphere and in the. case of a -cakehaving. acharacteristic :oferumbling; :suchcrumbling is liable to take-placethroughout the passage-pf time' 'to the: detriment of the general appearance .of the "out cake.

Furthermore; it is desirable to --protect thecut surface from flies and dust, for instance; should "theca-ke be kept in lthe open for any length'of time.

a means of protectingthe cut surfacesfof thecake, I provide a pairof*plateelike memhers plet'ely cover thecut surface" to"wh'i'ch" it is" applied and to "extend beyond themarginsi thereof. 'I- alsoprefer-to provide atabo'r handle 14 on each of the said plate members so"thatfth;eyjlnay ,be easily applied to and" removed from j'theggcake "without the'" fingers coming" in ;contaict1with the that it may, in use, snugly rest on the inner body portion of the cake dish l0 and extend beneath the bottom of the cake from a point somewhat inwardly Of the perimeter thereof as shown in Figure 1. Thus, it will be clear of the flange or rim of the cake plate and will also permit the outer edge of the cake to remain resting on the bottom of the cake plate after the foot of the plate member has been inserted therebeneath.

It is'commonly characteristic of a baked cake that the underside is somewhat concave to a slight extent and this further facilitates the insertion of the footof the plate member therebeneath.

It, will be quite obvious that this foot I! (or [8) of the plate member'serves two important and useful purposes. In the first place, when inserted beneath the cake adjacent a cut-out portion as shown, it effectively supports the plate member vertically. in protective relation to the cut face of the cake and prevents the plate from falling outwardly and away therefrom; and, secondly-,1 should'the cake be further cut, as indicated by broken lines I9 and'20, these newly cut wedges may be readily and cleanly removed by simply lifting by one or other of the said platelike members l2 or l3 so that the adjacent wedge of cake will be cleanly separated from the body of the cake and can be carriedon the device to such point of disposal as is desired. To facilitate the insertion of the said foot pieces beneath the cake, they may be beveled at their free straight edgeasat2l.

I 22 indicates the outer and lower margin of the said plate-like member as being cut away to provide for clearance above the rim of the cake plate or to prevent this margin of the .device, which extends outwardly of the cake, from coming into contact with any surface object which might interfere with its proper positioning.

Referring to Figures 5, 6 and 7, a somewhat modified form of plate member 23 is shown in that this member is of less height than that which is required for-cake and is intended for use with baked pies, more particularly, 7 [4 being the handle and 24 being the segmental shaped foot all operating in the same manner as heretofore described in connection with the member I3. v This modified form shown in Figures 5, 6 and? is provided in addition with an angularly disposed tab or extension 25 adapted to extend under the conical side of the pie adjacent the cut and afford a support therefor at that point. This member 25 also serves, in conjunction with the member 23, to prevent the escape of fruit and juices from the cut pie to an'undesirable extent, and

still further, facilitates vin supporting the pie 4 when it is lifted by the foot member 24 from the pie plate.

It should be clear that the complete device consists of two separate plate-like members each having afoot portion bent at right angles thereto, the said foot portions, in the case of the two members, being either right or left hand according to the applied position it is to occupy in use. It will also be noted that the foot portions provide complete support for the plate members in posi tion as well as serving as lifters for the removal of cut sections from the cake or other article.

This invention may be developed within the scope of the following claims without departing from the essential features of the said invention, and it is desired that the specification and drawing be read as being merely illustrative of a practical embodiment of the same and not in a strictly limiting sense.

What I claim is:

l. A cake lifter and preserver comprising a pair of vertical plates of sheet material of the same shape and size and each of sufficient area to cover one of the surfaces exposed in cutting a V-shaped gap in a cake or the like, each of said plates having a segmental foot extending at right angles from said bottom edge, said feet extendin from said bottom edges to provide left and right structures, and integral lifting tabs each projecting from and in the plane of a respective plate, said plates being of generally rectangular form and provided with vertical edges, each plate having an inner vertical edge at the apex of the segmental foot and having an outer edge spaced from and terminating at its lower end above the plane of said foot, each plate having a notch extending from the lower end of its outer edge to the junction between said plate and said foot.

2. A cake lifter and preserver comprising a pair of vertical plates of sheet material of the same shape and size and each of a sufficient area to cover one of the surfaces exposed in cutting a V-shaped gap in a cake or the like, each of said plate having a segmental foot extending at right angles from said bottom edge, the foot of one plate extending from said bottom edge thereof in an opposite direction to the foot of the other plate to provide left and right structures, and lifting tabs each projecting from a respective plate, said plates being of generally rectangular form and provided with vertical'inner and outer'edgesthe lower end of said outer plate edge terminating above the plane of the foot and each plate having a notch formed therein extending from th lower end of the outer edge thereof to the rear point of junction between said plate and said foot.

GEORGE O. KOPON EN REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 400,537 Barry Apr. 2, 1889 1,612,367 Fulton Dec. 28, 1926 

